Cooler Master GX 650W Power Supply Review

Cooler Master is breaking new maketing ground this time around with a "Gamer Xtreme" PSU at 650 watts. Marketing aside, it is packing a 52 amp single rail and a 5 year warranty, so maybe all is not lost on kitschy sales speak. Gag me with a spoon.

Introduction

Cooler Master Co. LTD. is a company that is well known for producing enthusiast computer cases and has been in business for almost 25 years. In addition to cases Cooler Master has product lines for CPU and GPU heatsinks, case fans, various accessories, and power supplies. Cooler Master’s entry into the power supply market has been rather mixed with some good products, and some that could use improvement. Today we are reviewing one of Cooler Master’s middle of the road products targeted specifically at gamers the Gamer Extreme Power Plus, aka GX 650W (RS650-ACAAE3-US), which is produced in conjunction with Seventeam.

Seventeam Electronics Company is a company that has flown under the consumer power supply radar for some time in the US even though they have been making power supplies for close to 20 years. This is for good reason as a quick search of their website shows a large number of server oriented offerings that would not be noticed by most enthusiast consumers. This product structuring has changed a bit over the last few years as we have seen a number of Seventeam based power supplies in the US consumer market from Ultra and SilverStone as well as today’s Cooler Master unit.

Gamer Extreme Power Plus, Or Collection of Over Used Marketing Terms in a Box?

The Cooler Master GX 650W is the first Cooler Master unit we have seen in some time and just the 5th unit from Cooler Master we have seen at all. Cooler Master is a large distributor of cooling products, chassis, and power supplies so they have been somewhat underrepresented in our reviews to date. Today though, the new Gamer Xtreme series marks its return and, at least by name, seems to be a perfect fit for such a return. The mid-range power supply market however, is one where a unit not only must perform well but it must be priced well in order to seriously compete against the entrenched brands that currently dominate this realm. With that in mind, let’s see what Cooler Master has to say about this unit:

The Cooler Master GX Series power supplies stand for Gamer Xtreme, the evolved version of Extreme Power Plus. With up to 60 amps on a single rail, there is enough power to start up a truck, imagine what it can do for your system. With so much power at your disposal, Cooler Master ensures the most stringent safety standards are met. The extended 5 year warranty is included to give you further piece of mind.

Now that we know what Cooler Master expects from this power supply let’s see what we have to look forward to when we purchase the GX 650W in terms of documentation, accessories, cable count, rail layout, output characteristics, and general build quality.